Rewards

"I passed the Eleventh Floor. The benefits the Virtual Universe Company offered were that we could join the End Times Secret Realm, while Kong Yan and Zhendan could join the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm. So we all thought that passing the Eleventh Floor was the requirement for joining the End Times Secret Realm, and the Twelfth Floor was the minimum requirement for joining the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm," Li Zheng continued. "Our Blade Race territory is in the Ganwu Universe Kingdom, which belongs to the Virtual Universe Company, so I've already decided to join them. There's now an End Times District in my Virtual Universe residence."

"Kong Yan and I both received invitations to join the Virtual Universe Company's Heaven and Earth Secret Realm. But in the end, I joined the Giant Axe Dojo, while Kong Yan joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance!" Zhendan spoke up from beside them.

The others weren't surprised; they'd clearly already heard the news. Ye Muxuan slowly nodded, his eyes narrowing.

"My teacher is a King Rank member of the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance. He isn't exactly a high-ranking official, but he still has some influence, so I joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance too," Kong Yan said, his figure slender.

"You're the only World Lord among us who reached the Thirteenth Floor. Surely the Five Great Powers offered you better terms to win you over," said Zhendan, a burly man with a lightning-shaped mark between his brows.

"As far as I know, the highest anyone among the new Military Lord Immortals reached on the Heavenly Bridge was the Thirteenth Floor. But one of the Marquis Immortals reached the Sixteenth Layer," Qing Lun said, dressed in blue.

Immortals reaching the Thirteenth Floor and World Lords reaching the Thirteenth Floor—anyone could tell which showed greater talent and potential. You could even say Ye Muxuan was more talented than the Marquis Immortal who reached the Sixteenth Layer.

Li Zheng spoke up, sharing some details about himself—information he could disclose to them. "Let me start with my own situation. I reached the Eleventh Floor on both the Heavenly Bridge and the Illusion Sea. After joining the End Times Secret Realm as a Core Member, I received the corresponding privileges and a reward of ten thousand points. Adding the points I've earned from the Heavenly Bridge, Illusion Sea, and Immortal Altar, I have nearly 470,000 points in total, as well as a separate ten-million-point allowance to buy any Secret Technique. Kong Yan and Zhendan both passed the Twelfth Floor of the Heavenly Bridge. I don't know exactly how they did on the Illusion Sea, but I'd guess their results were similar. And though they didn't join the Virtual Universe Company, the Giant Axe Dojo and Cosmic Mercenary Alliance should have given them 100,000 reward points. Muxuan, you reached the Thirteenth Floor, the only one among this batch of newcomers. You must have even more points now, right?"

Kong Yan and Zhendan both nodded.

They had joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance and the Giant Axe Dojo, respectively, and both powers had paid a price to win them over. There wasn't much to say about the reward points and point allowances; the Five Great Powers had agreed on those terms. During their time in the Initial Universe, newcomers who joined the End Times Secret Realm would receive 10,000 points, those who joined the Heaven and Earth Secret Realm would receive 100,000, those who joined the Primordial Secret Realm would receive a million, and those who joined the Primal Secret Realm would receive ten million. But there was much more room to negotiate over the other benefits.

Even among instructors, there was at least a hundredfold difference in strength between a High King and a Limit King. But to the Venerables, they were much the same. So if Kong Yan had joined the Virtual Universe Company, its Venerables might have promised her a High King or even Peak King instructor to guide her until she became an Immortal. If she joined the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance, however, its leaders might send a Limit King or even someone of Invincible King Rank to guide her. And while the first instructor would stop teaching her once she became an Immortal or after a set period, the second could continue guiding her even after she became one.

The Five Great Powers each had their own advantages when it came to recruitment. It was up to each person to weigh the options and decide which one to join.

"The Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Dojo are clearly the strongest. Of the 1,008 Universe Kingdoms in the Human Race, those two powers each control half. The Cosmic First Bank and Cosmic Galaxy Bank are weaker by comparison, but that's also why the two banks are more willing to pay a higher price to recruit talented people," Qing Lun said. "I've passed the Ninth Floor, and on my teacher's recommendation, I joined the Cosmic Galaxy Bank as an Outer Member. I also signed an agreement with them."

"I'm an Outer Member now. All I've received are the points for passing the Heavenly Bridge, Illusion Sea, and Immortal Altar. I haven't gotten the kind of reward Blade Maniac and Zhendan got, and I don't have a free point allowance either. But if I can pass the Eleventh Floor within my three thousand years in the Initial Universe, I'll be able to enter the Core Layer and get the same 10,000 reward points and point allowance. There are more specific point rewards for the Twelfth and Thirteenth Floors too, though I don't think I have much chance of getting them. Of course, I won't give up," Qing Lun said, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "My goal is to pass the Eleventh Floor within these three thousand years. That'll get me 10,000 reward points, and more importantly, a place in the Cosmic Galaxy Bank's Core Secret Realm!"

Kong Yan nodded. "The Cosmic Galaxy Bank is one of the Five Great Powers too. Its Core Secret Realm can't be much worse than those of the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Dojo. As Core Members, we have a very good chance of becoming Immortals!"

For a World Lord to become an Immortal, three things were essential: Law Comprehension, consciousness and will, and control over the body. But even with all three, one still might not succeed. There was also an intangible element of luck.

Normally, only after becoming an Immortal did someone qualify to be recruited by the Five Great Powers.

Besides Qing Lun, Bone Hand, Blood Sword, Wei Yi, and the others spoke up as well. They'd all passed the Ninth Floor, and after weighing their options, had joined one of the Five Great Powers. For now, though, they were only Outer Members. In fact, with the exception of Ye Muxuan, almost all the thousand or so people who'd entered the Initial Universe and were eligible for an invitation had chosen to join a major power. Those World Lords who'd only passed the Seventh or Eighth Floor were the exception; they weren't even eligible for an invitation. Among those who did receive one, the most had chosen the Virtual Universe Company or the Giant Axe Dojo. The Cosmic Mercenary Alliance came next, while the two banks had the fewest recruits.

This was much like what had happened with previous batches of newcomers. After all, the two banks and the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance were generally somewhat weaker. Even so, among the more than one thousand World Lords in this batch, only eleven had been invited to become Core Members. Most of the others had signed agreements like Qing Lun and become Outer Members of one of the Five Great Powers. Many of them, especially those who'd entered through the auction, would likely spend their entire World Lord lifespans without ever becoming Immortals. In the end, they might only become guards for Core Members.

The World Lords serving in the guard squads of the Genius Battle participants more than ten years ago were much the same.

After all, those who didn't become Immortals couldn't live forever. They couldn't escape the passage of time or the turning of the ages.